This invention relates to multi-contact electrical connectors for connecting a plurality of conductors in a cable to conductors external to the cable. The herein disclosed embodiment of the invention is particularly intended for use with so called transmission cables which comprises a plurality of extremely fine conductors in side-by-side parallel relationship, although other uses for the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,891,013 and 3,871,072 disclose and claim a technique for spreading a plurality of side-by-side conductors and locating the conductors in precise positions relative to each other so that terminals can be secured by crimping or otherwise onto the ends of the conductors. These prior U.S. patents, and other issued U.S. patents referred to in the specifications thereof, disclose methods and apparatus which are primarily intended for relatively coarse gauge conductors. The instant invention is directed to the use of these techniques described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,891,013, 3,871,072, 3,887,999 and 3,939,933 for assembling electrical connectors in a flat conductor cable in which the conductors are extremely close together. The invention is further directed to the achievement of an electrical connector which has a self-contained means for locating the conductors in the cable at precise positions when the connector is installed on the cable. U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,445 also discloses a related connector fabrication technique.
One prior art connector is shown in FIGS. 15 and 16. The connector depicted therein is often referred to as a paddleboard connector. This paddleboard connector comprises a printed circuit board with traces leading from a soldered contact with the conductor in the transmission cable to the terminals in a housing. This paddleboard connector will subsequently be more fully described.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the connector is comprised of two housing parts which are adapted to be telescopically assembled to each other with the conductors from a cable between opposed surfaces of the housing parts. During assembly, the conductors are separated or spread and precisely located relative to each other at the mating end of the connector housing. Electrical contact terminals which constitute part of the connector assembly, are brought into engagement with the conductors after assembly of the housing parts to each other and engage the conductors to establish electrical contact therewith. The contact terminals have means for establishing electrical contact with further conductors such as the conductors on a printed circuit board or contact terminals in a complementary connector.
It is accordingly, an object of the invention to provide an improved multi-contact electrical connector. A further object is to provide a connector having means for separating and precisely locating the conductors in a cable upon assembly of the connector to the cable. A further object is to provide an improved connector for flat transmission cable having a plurality of parallel conductors on closely spaced centers. A further object is to provide a connector which can be installed on the end of a cable in a minimum amount of time by a technician at a worksite.
Another object is to provide a connector in which a wire termination can be made without degrading the electrical performance of the system. Proper impedance matching and low crosstalk are therefore objects of this invention. Accordingly, this invention lends itself to use of a template design in which wire spacing can be regulated to achieve these desirable electrical characteristics.
Furthermore, an object of this invention is to provide a means of spreading a plurality of closely spaced conductors to a centerline spacing upon which all of the conductors can be simultaneously terminated. Consistent with this objective is the desirability of interconnecting conductors on one centerline to terminals on a different centerline by means of a single termination, thereby increasing the termination efficiency and minimizing the number of terminations which could be defective.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved in preferred embodiments thereof which are briefly described in the foregoing abstract, which are described in detail below.